Austin Aries: Evolution of A-Double

Between 2004 and 2010, Austin Aries was one of the genuine crown jewels of Ring of Honor, and historically, their only two-time World champion. As he was recently elevated to the position of TNA World champion, there couldn't be a better time to revisit his career in ROH.

This first disc is bulging with impressive material from Aries' 2005 title reign. Included is his victory over Samoa Joe for the gold - a moment that remains utterly essential viewing, given that it was one of the top feel-good moments in company history. Homicide, Spanky and James Gibson all prove to be worthy opponents in a fine string of defences that make a decent sampling of what Aries was all about, with the Gibson match in particular proving to be thrilling. A bout with Alex Shelley originally suffered somewhat from the stop-start nature of their rivalry, but viewed now, it stands out as a novel battle. Likewise, singles action against AJ Styles was something ROH fans in 2005 had craved, and it remains a cracking scrap.

A TREASURE TROVE
Disc Two covers 2006 and 2007, and is something of a treasure trove of less-remembered outings. An early pay-per-view tussle with Roderick Strong is a fine inclusion, although the two had a plethora of superior battles. Likewise, no fault can be found with excellent contests opposite a rookie Davey Richards, and two against an ever-improving Matt Sydal (WWE's Evan Bourne). Takeshi Morishima's April 27, 2007 defence of the World title in Minnesota is even better, perfectly showcasing Aries as a believable underdog in such a situation. It was one of the most underrated main events of that year, and it's great that it crops up here as a stand-out performance.

One of the strengths of this compilation is, ironically, also its weakness, as five matches featuring Bryan Danielson is surely too many for one opponent. The most interesting of these is the first, an ROH title match from May 2005, which is the tail-end of Aries' tenure with the belt. The set is then rounded off with their 2007 best-of-three series, which was a brilliant examination of two former champions attempting to prove their standing as cornerstones of the company. The finale, in particular, magnificently plays off the finishes of both prior collisions.

Aries' tag team with Roderick Strong does get short-changed a little bit, limited as it is to just two bouts. The better of these is a scrap with Matt Sydal and AJ Styles, which builds to a truly thrilling finale, worthy of the Fourth Anniversary Show at which it occurred.
With that said, the focus on the solo material is completely understandable. As a little compensation, several of the randomly-inserted highlights show important moments along the way, notably in the crossed paths of Aries and Strong.

As is now common with ROH's "best of" series, Evolution of A-Double is crammed with fantastic grappling from some of the promotion's peak years. It also benefits enormously from including several encounters from lesser-regarded shows, which is certainly likely to appeal to those who didn't plump for said individual releases. ROH have also managed to leave plenty of scope for follow-up instalments. In that instance, a bit more dedication towards including some talking heads would be especially nice to explain Aries' metamorphosis into his sleazy "Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" persona.

By no means a genuine "best of", this remains an excellent primer for a man who spent nearly a decade developing into a star who has electrified the wrestling industry in 2012.